Scud

It's a lot of oil. I recently left the breather hose disconnected by accident. Rode 4 miles - oil everywhere. It was a perfect topper to my clutch frustrations (now solved).

Thanks guys. I ordered a ring compressor last night, but it was a sleeve type, not the one pictured. I think I would feel better about tapping the pistons in from the bottom - seems like less risk of error. Then what - do I reconnect to the rods before sliding the cylinder all the way down - or do I do that from inside the crankcase? Won't be home till Friday - will take closeups then. I don't think I need to (nor do I want to) remove the valves.

There are three grease nipples. One on each U-joint and one on the shaft. If you overfill the one on the shaft, grease will exit at the rear - so it will not force the halves apart. Can you place a straight-edge on the driveshaft? I wonder if it bent due to the force. If so, it's probably not worth saving and you could cut it off. As I mentioned, I have a spare if you need it and can't find one locally - but it needs an O-ring.

Thanks, will be interested to see how durable it is. I need some grey for the Daytona cases. Ciao It's holding up really well on my BMW transmission and driveline - and so far so good on the Scura. Note that the Engine Case paint is different than the Engine Enamel - I'm not sure how it's different, but the case paint says it's specifically for motorcycle engines. I got a can of VHT's Engine Enamel in a color they call Nu-Cast Aluminum. I'm hoping that will be a good match for the cylinder heads.

Hmmm... this is going to be one of those "I should have read the instructions" moments. This was only supposed to be a paint job. Motor only had 12,000 miles and I had not planned on taking it this far apart. But it was such a PITA to strip my Scura engine with the cylinders on... This was much easier for stripping and painting. I also thought about just raising the cylinder a little - but then one stud came out and one base gasket tore a chunk off when I lifted the cylinder. So - I should have disconnected the pistons from the rods and left them in the cylinders? That seems like it would be have been a good idea. Therefore - I suppose I should remove the pistons and install them in the cylinders? I have whole week to figure this out. Gotta fly tomorrow AM.

If you have some ratchet straps, you can hook one to each end of the swingarm. Then secure to two fixed objects and use one ratchet strap to pull the halves apart. Or you could take the whole assembly over to a machine shop and see what they recommend. By the way, if you find the O-ring, please post the specs. My spare driveshaft has a broken O-ring and I'd like to replace it.

So there she sits for another week while I will be away for work. But that gives me to time get some supplies. And I could use some advice, because this is first time I've put pistons in anything. I'm going to get new base and head gaskets (one of each was damaged during removal). It looks like a good idea to replace all the O-rings around the long studs - between block and cylinder, and up top, at the head. I'll get new O-rings for the access plugs on the heads. Questions: One of the top studs came out with the special cap-nut (the one under the oil line). Any worry there - or just separate them and reinstall the stud? How should I install the cylinders over the pistons? Please treat me like I don't know anything about this, because I don't. Tools... cleaning... assembly lube... what do I need to know?

Stayed up late to watch a horror show:

Popped the clutch in - with alternating original and stiffer springs. Lesson learned on my last clutch mis-adventure. Hopefully this one will be a one-shot deal. And I slipped on the slippery slope... engine stripping in process. The engine looks brand new inside. Gears and chain look great, heads are barely even discolored. Bore marks still visible in the cylinder walls.

I'm glad the SpineFrames are "old enough" now to be on their to-do list. Ha - last time I talked to Gordon about my 2003 LeMans he said "I don't do too much with the new bikes." +1 on props to the shop though. They've always been great.

For the rubber dampers: I roughed up the rubber and metal surfaces with sandpaper, then cleaned with alcohol. I used Seal-All adhesive. Then I zip-tied the metal plate to the frame so it slightly compresses the dampers. I figure that even if the glue gives way, the zip-ties will keep the coils in place. I re-glued a sidestand bumper this way (minus the zip ties) and it's been holding.

Dang, that's a bummer on the new clutch slave - but I'm sure a hydraulic hose shop could make a line that would fit it. Glad the spare cleaned up and is functional - it came from a bike with 50,000 miles. There seems to be quite a lot of variance in clutch springs. I have some extra stronger springs if you need or want them. I alternated 5 stronger and 5 original springs to get desired resistance at lever. 10 stronger springs caused a problem.

Where did you get the new spring? Can you post a picture of both springs?

Sounds like good news. And you'll have a cool scar on your transmission.

I don't like re-work. But the bushing is back in and I'm glad I did it. Thanks again for the help solving this problem. The bike is much more enjoyable now because of all you fine gentlemen.

Pardon my prior playfulness. Here's some actual advice: I needed to re-install a bushing on my pre-selector (since I overlooked it a few days ago). So I took mine off just now. Having done it a few times recently, here are some lessons learned. You want as clear and straight an approach as possible so you don't get sealant everywhere. (How did I learn that???) It's a good idea to dry-fit it first (without sealant) so you have a feel for it and don't get sealant everywhere (again, how do I know?) Loosen the lower nut on the oil return line and wedge the line as far away from the transmission as possible. If your fuel line is in the way (top right) you can wedge a screwdriver in there to keep it above the transmission case. And you probably already figured out that you need to grind down a hex wrench to get at some of the lower bolts. This would not be a problem on the red-frame bikes, because there is no frame rail connecting the engine block to the lower transmission bolt (that goes through the porkchops.

It's normal to have a little performance anxiety on your first time - not being sure how everything is supposed to fit. Now you'll never forget this transmission. Set innuendo on maximum...

Pawl spring looks right to me. But you can push the coil up and down with a screwdriver to see if you can make it sit better. It will probably just relax into its own best spot after a few shifts anyway. The metal plate under the upper cog only goes in one way. It has a tab that fits a slot on the underside of the cog.

Check your external shift linkage first. Is the foot lever free or binding? The lever pivot bolt can be adjusted for tightness - then locked in place by a secondary nut. Is the linkage nice and tight? A loose bolt on either end of the linkage will ruin your shifting. Is it rubbing on anything or hitting anything? The nut on the forward part of the linkage can hit the starter or the transmission case if it's not on right. After all that... off with the pre-selector. I was pretty intimidated by it at first, but it can be done.

Centauro a sportbike? Can we call it a Power-Cruiser instead? But it was a spineframe, so I assume it handles similarly to the Sports and V11s. People who like 'em really like 'em.

Yeah, great day (except for the big stretches of slab to start and finish). I've been scheming on this ride for a while - staring at maps. I try to do a big ride on or near my birthday (today) - which I don't really celebrate, except as an excuse to go riding on a work-day. And I went in my birthday suit... by that, I mean I got myself some new riding gear recently. Called it a birthday present.

I rode about 150 miles along the San Andreas Fault today. I mapped out a bunch of twisty back roads that follow the fault line. Such as this tasty unstriped road. The fault itself is rarely visible on the ground, but it was cool riding along the transition zones that have different features on each side - due to the plates sliding past each other over millions of years. I believe the fault is at the bottom of this valley. Everything was green from last winter's rain - and this hillside is going to explode in purple soon. I saw a few spots with intense early bloomers, but no pics of those, sorry... After leaving the fault line, I headed South on CA-33. This road has been calling me since it denied me recently (due to landslides). So worth it. This section is on the descent toward Ojai. Then on to Neptune's Net on the ocean for a bread-bowl of clam chowder... a quick rip up Mulholland Drive... and an agonizing slog through Los Angeles. Ride Stats: 500 miles 11 hours 6,879 max elevation 4 gas stops 9 California Counties: San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Kern, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles (southern pass), Orange, and back to San Diego.

Vocabulary and ass-orted solutions here: http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18602&hl=%2Bfarking+%2Buni

VHT Engine Case Primer and VHT Engine Case Satin Black

Engine cases all painted. That leaves the block, and maybe the heads (since the silver paint is bubble-peeling on fins). Interestingly, the upper sump ring had silver paint under the wrinkle paint. Must have been a re-paint at the factory. Twice the stripping fun for me...